


It started out with a macchiato, how did it end up like this?

by lynndaem



Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Meet-Cute, and i refuse to edit it, the coffee shop au that nobody asked for, the title is dumb because i am dumb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 10:50:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19149526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lynndaem/pseuds/lynndaem
Summary: “For once in your life, can you please take me seriously?”“It’s kind of hard to when you’re laying on the floor like a dramatic five-year-old. It wasn’t even that big of a deal, so you spilled coffee on someone, it’s literally not even the first time, Daehyun.”“Yes, but he was cute this time.”





	It started out with a macchiato, how did it end up like this?

Daehyun ran the rag over the counter top for the nth time that day, his cheeks puffed out and his gaze wandering over the nearly empty café. The morning rush had ended a couple of hours ago and the only customers in the quaint shop were two elderly ladies sipping tea in the far corner and gossiping about their grandchildren and a group of students squished into a booth with several laptops open between them as they argued and debated over a school project in semi-hushed tones.

He would get a small crowd of people around noon as people rushed to get their caffeine fix during their lunch breaks, other than that, it was just him and the occasional passerby who decided to stop in for a quick cup of coffee or possibly one of the cute pastries on display behind the glass.

The soft tinkle of the bell brought Daehyun out of his daze and he quickly stood up from where he was leaned against the counter top, plastering on a smile on his face. “Good morning.”

“Morning… can I get a blueberry muffin and whatever coffee you’re best at.”

Daehyun nodded, tapping in the order and trying to keep his eyes focused on the screen rather than the attractive male standing in front of him, “Ah~ Name for the order?”

“Youngjae. It’ll be for here.”

Daehyun finished ringing up the order, going ahead and getting the blueberry muffin out of the pastry display before getting to work on a vanilla latte. He had been practicing his latte art lately, and with so many people getting their coffees to go he rarely got to make anything decent for anyone aside from Himchan, his longtime friend and business partner.

He couldn’t help but smile and admire the latte for just a few moments when he’s finished, the carefully constructed rose looking delicate in the foam of the coffee. He did his best to walk the cup carefully to where Youngjae is sat so he doesn’t mess up his art, offering the attractive male a quick smile and a “Here you go, I hope you like it!” before rushing back behind the counter to busy himself with meaningless tasks.

 ~*~

It soon becomes a consistent in Daehyun’s work routine, around 11am, between his morning rush and his lunch rush, Youngjae comes in with a request for a pastry or a muffin and a latte. Some mornings the order is to go and Daehyun has to mourn the loss of his latte art as he pours the coffee into the to-go cup. Instead, he does his best with writing Youngjae’s name in the neatest, most artistic font he can manage on the curved surface. Himchan insists that he should write his number instead but Daehyun just throws his rag at the baker and pretends like his cheeks aren’t red at the thought.

 ~*~

The next time Daehyun sees Youngjae is on a busy Saturday morning. Daehyun feels like he’s being stretched much too thin as he moves between taking orders and making coffees, dashing out from behind the counter to clean tables and keep the café presentable any time there is a lull between the caffeine addicted crowds. He’s usually good with managing all the stress of trying to do too many things at once, but today’s balancing act just doesn’t seem to be going as planned.

It all started with a macchiato. That damned coffee was the reason for all of his problems.

Daehyun had apparently gotten wrong the last three times he had made it and the man ordering it made sure to tell him just that, going over in detail exactly how he wanted Daehyun to make it despite the line clearly forming behind him becoming impatient with how long he was taking at the counter.

That was the first sign that Daehyun should have saw, and it was at that moment he should have taken off his apron, closed shop, and maybe even left the country.

The second sign was the fact that when he called out the order, the man had the audacity to raise his hand and snap his fingers at Daehyun, as if the barista was required to bring the drink directly to him. Normally, Daehyun wouldn’t have a problem with it, often times taking teas and coffees directly to his regulars or elderly customers instead of calling them to the counter. However, the man showed no sign of getting up to get his coffee despite how busy he had seen Daehyun when he had been at the counter. Daehyun looked to the ceiling, taking a deep breath and trying to gather whatever strength he needed to not yeet the carefully made macchiato across his perfectly pleasant café. All he had to do was hand over the coffee and go about his business as usual. Things had finally settled down, though the café was bustling with noise of the early morning patrons, it was the first time Daehyun didn’t have a line in front of his counter in at least two hours. He could hand over the coffee and take a much needed break.

That should have been his third and final sign.

Daehyun came out from behind the counter, not even making it three steps towards the man waiting for his coffee when he ran into someone. The coffee stood no chance, tipping from Daehyun’s hands and spilling all down the front of Youngjae’s shirt.

“Shit—Fuck I’m so sorry… oh my god—I should have been paying attention, oh god—fuck,” The words stream out of Daehyun’s mouth as he fumbles with the mostly empty coffee cup.

“That is some colourful language.” Youngjae smirks, and Daehyun just _knows_ his face is beet red.

“Don’t you think he should be apologizing to me! I have been waiting for coffee, and now he’s going to make me wait longer? Maybe if he wasn’t so incompetent—”

The café seems to buzz with low murmured conversations as the man stands angerly from his table, no one seeming to want to intervene in the confrontation, but clearly watching as they slowly return to their own conversations.

Youngjae, however, silences the man with a dismissive wave of his hand, “It isn’t his job to wait on you. Maybe if you weren’t such an arrogant imbecile, you would have your coffee.” He says, his tone bored as he pulls out his wallet. He shoves a few neatly folded bills at the man, a falsely cheery smile on his face, “Consider your coffee on me.” Youngjae turned back to Daehyun, his head tilting, “Is there anywhere I can rinse my shirt before it stains, or, do you have some more colourful language I should hear first?”

Daehyun quickly snaps his mouth shut, having not even realized his jaw had fallen open with how easily Youngjae seemed to have defused the situation. He nods quickly, setting the mostly empty coffee cup on the counter to deal with later before taking Youngjae carefully by the wrist and leading him back behind the counter and into the kitchens. He clears his throat, wincing at the slight crack to his voice, “Himchan … can you please watch the front for just a moment…?”

Youngjae raises an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at his lips as Himchan looked up from where he had been folding the delicate pastries. The older male only takes a second to look between them before cracking a smile, “Alright, I’ll take orders but I’m not going to make any coffee, so, don’t try to get frisky with your boyfriend.”

Himchan all too easily dodges the spatula that Daehyun grabs and throws at him, cackling as he dusts off his hands and goes to watch the storefront.

“I’m sorry, he likes to make jokes…” Daehyun mutters, embarrassed by Himchan’s words and refusing to look to see what sort of expression Youngjae has on his face out of fear that it might be disgust. He leads the way to the back sink, thankful that Himchan doesn’t let his baking pans pile up in it. “Here you can rinse your shirt out here… uhm… I think I might have a spare shirt in the office, if you would like to borrow it so you don’t have to wear a wet shirt—” Daehyun turns to look at Youngjae and takes a moment to wonder if his current situation is a blessing or a curse.

Youngjae doesn’t seem to mind Daehyun’s stare as he strips off his shirt, running his fingers through his hair with that ever-present smirk on his lips, “Sure. I’ll borrow your shirt.”

Daehyun nods, dumbfound, and quickly turns away. As if he couldn’t embarrass himself anymore, he manages to hip check the table and shoulder check the door frame in his haste to get into the office and away from Youngjae. All hopes of Youngjae not seeing his clumsy stumbles are dashed away by the light chuckle he hears over the sound of the running water.

 ~*~

Daehyun hadn’t see Youngjae since the incident, which was fine—he was fine with the loss of his t-shirt and his daily latte art routine if it meant that he never had to face that sort of embarrassment again in his life. Sure, the world probably wouldn’t exactly end if Youngjae walked into the café, but Daehyun would rather not take those chances even if Himchan said he was being too dramatic. The bell above the door tinkled softly and Daehyun stood up from behind the pastry display where he had been putting out today's baked goods.

Actually, abort.

The world most definitely is ending, Daehyun thinks, as his eyes fall onto Youngjae and his ever-present smirk. He shakes his head quickly, trying to shake himself out of his thoughts though it’s hard when Youngjae stands before the counter in what Daehyun recognizes to be his own shirt and _oh god he’s still wearing it?_

“Good morning.”

“M-morning…” Daehyun smiles, hesitant with his cheeks far too red considering all Youngjae had done was greet him. He probably didn’t even realize the shirt was the one that Daehyun had given him, although, with the way the fabric clung to his broad shoulders and stretched across his chest, Daehyun was positive Youngjae would at least know that it wasn’t his own. He tries to play it cool, hands fidgeting with the register, “The usual?”

“Actually, can I get an iced coffee to go?” Youngjae says, holding eye contact when Daehyun looks away from the register in surprise at the sudden change in order. “I sorta don’t actually like lattes. You’re just cute when you’re concentrating on the art.”

“O-oh…” Daehyun picks up one of the to-go cups, his mind reeling from Youngjae’s words. He picks up the sharpie sitting beside his register, scribbling quickly onto the cup before turning to make the coffee.

The cup is cool in his hand as he passes it across the counter to Youngjae, a small smile on his lips.

“Thanks. See you tomorrow.” Youngjae’s fingers brushed against Daehyun’s as he took the to-go cup, putting the straw to his lips and giving Daehyun a wink before leaving the quiet café with another small tinkle of the bell.

Daehyun only has a moment of peace before his phone buzzes softly in the pocket of his apron. Stealing a glance at the street just outside of the windows, he pulls out the device and unlocks it with a swipe of his thumb.

Maybe macchiatos weren’t all that bad, Daehyun finds himself thinking as he stares down at the text he had just received, a simple selca of Youngjae holding the iced coffee to his cheek with a bright smile on his face, Daehyun’s number scribbled onto the side of the cup on full display.


End file.
